Congress Could Save Federal Agencies From Trump. Here’s How

Congress could stop President Donald Trump from dismantling federal agencies, a legal analyst has told Newsweek.

Why It Matters

Trump, who returned to office last month, has announced plans to dismantle key federal agencies, including the Department of Education, and has begun defunding others, such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The cuts are likely to have significant effects in the U.S. and abroad. The Department of Education alone employs about 4,400 people and has a $68 billion budget, according to the agency’s latest data. It also supplies federal student aid, distributing more than $115 billion annually in grants, loans and work-study funds for higher education.

What To Know

Oleg Nekritin, an attorney at the Law Offices of Robert J. DeGroot in Newark, New Jersey, told Newsweek that the Trump administration’s plans to dismantle federal agencies would be contested in court.

“The constitutionality of any decision to shut down these departments and agencies will be challenged as the president cannot dissolve or consolidate agencies without the approval of Congress,” Nekritin said.

“For President Trump to dissolve the Department of Education, he will have to abide by statutory law. First, he must present a ‘reorganization plan’ to Congress,” he continued.

Nekritin said that under the wording of federal law, Trump must present a plan to Congress that includes “an estimate of any reduction or increase in expenditures, itemized so far as practicable” and describes “any improvements in management, delivery of federal services, execution of the laws, and increases in efficiency of government operations, which it is expected will be realized as a result of the reorganizations included in the plan.”

To completely dissolve an agency, such as the Department of Education, federal law stipulates that “Congress would have to approve the president’s reorganization plan within 90 days of the plan’s presentation,” he continued.

Nekritin said Trump’s plans to withhold funding would also need congressional approval.

“The president also cannot withhold funds allocated to agencies by law,” he added. “His only recourse to deny or limit funding is through veto power. Once a law is enacted to fund an agency or the department, the president cannot refuse to fund that agency or department. It is Congress, and not the president, who controls ‘the purse strings.'”

What People Are Saying

Republican Senator John Kennedy, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox News on Monday: “To my friends who are upset, I would say, with respect, call somebody who cares. They better get used to this. It’s USAID today. It’s going to be the Department of Education tomorrow.”

What Happens Next

Democrats have vowed to fight Trump’s plans in the courts. During a news conference outside USAID headquarters earlier this week, Representative Don Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, said stopping Trump would require “action by the courts.”